Sonic the Hedgehog
Making video game movies are hard. Before last year, there was few and far between in this genre that people would even consider passable. With the release of last year’s Detective Pikachu, people were forced to re-evaluate the genre and it’s potential future. Maybe stories based on specific videogames won’t work, but perhaps stories that focus on these worlds is the better play? With Pikachu’s success, it was inevitable that it would be opening a floodgate of new video game films as studios try to capitalize once again on the rising interest in these stories. SEGA and Paramount may have gotten off on the wrong foot with their first iteration of Sonic’s design, but after a short delay and a rework of the CGI, they had won back fan favor and interest in their story. Combined with Jim Carrey as a potentially pitch-perfect Dr. Robotnik, this movie promised to continue the momentum of good video game movies started by Detective Pikachu and Tomb Raider even prior.
Our story begins with a classic “wondering how I got here?” moment as we see Robotnik chasing Sonic through a major city. With a quick comment about telling the story too fast, Sonic rewinds the story back to the beginning, the very beginning. His origins on his homeworld are revealed, as a group of Echidna hunt him for his power, but his caretaker Longclaw (a character I believe created for the film), sends him off to Earth believing it is safe. From here, we see the lovable hedgehog’s life begin in Green Hills, Montana. He’s living his “best life” on Earth, but struggles with loneliness as he has to live his life in hiding from potential threats. But, after causing a massive power surge across the Pacific Northwest, the US government calls in Dr. Robotnik to discover the source of the EMP-like attack.
This movie really surprised me, whether it’s the performances of the leads, or really just the simplistic but serious story, it felt like the right introduction for this character. Speaking of characters, the standouts are of course Ben Schwartz as Sonic and Jim Carrey as Robotnik. Schwartz carries enough gravitas as the voice of our hero that you are interested in his arc throughout the film. While it’s a rather common arc in many kid friendly stories, a lot of work is done to portray the loneliness and arguably depression that he has faced throughout his life since coming to Earth. On the other end, Carrey is magnificent as our villain. This is one of those roles that seems made to be played by him, and I cannot wait to see him inhabit the role once again. He’s such a whacky presence, but that’s true to Robotnik as a character. I enjoyed him so much in fact, the movie felt noticeably less enjoyable when he wasn’t involved in the action. James Marsden’s Tom Wachowski is a major player throughout the film, but he’s arguably the most cookie-cutter of the group. He does do well when working with Robotnik though, in fact their scenes together are some of the best in the film. Overall, great work by the leads in this film, and some fun secondary characters also do good by the movie.
The most surprising part of this movie is definitely the themes presented, and really how effectively the story is told. My biggest concern with a Sonic movie was the film studio not really getting the essence of the character. Fear not though, Paramount nailed it here, with a few surprising but effective tidbits. As mentioned above, Sonic is going through some real emotional turmoil throughout the first act. It’s impressive how Paramount is able to weave a narrative about some pretty serious themes like loneliness into a story about a comically fast hedgehog. While it’s not necessarily something surprising being that it’s a kid-friendly story, what was surprising was just how well it was executed. The writers do a careful job to not bang the message of friendship over the heads of the audience like some other films in this vein would do. It’s instead doled out in minor doses at the right points in the story, and really works with the character of Sonic. It’s actually hard for me to really specifically point out why I feel it’s done so well here, but it really does elevate the film.
One minor negative I did have with this film though is that at times, it’s fairly easy to see where the quick turnaround time on the new design of Sonic caused issues. In a few specific scenes, Sonic doesn’t look like part of the actual environment he is in, instead he looks like he was placed into it and lighted through external means. As a result, he just doesn’t fit in with what is around him. But, overall, I was very impressed with the visuals done for Sonic. When the redesign was done, I was impressed with the new look, but worried that he may look too smooth or computer-generated that it would stand out like a sore thumb. Luckily, as a sum, he fits right in. There’s one other concern I have that I’m not able to really discuss due to spoilers, and it mostly revolves around Robotnik’s tactics. For those who see the film, you’ll understand what I’m pointing to.
In the end, Sonic the Hedgehog was a much better movie than I went in anticipating. It won’t be on any top ten lists at years end, and it most certainly won’t be challenging for Best Picture, but the truth is that it doesn’t need to. This film accomplished what is was supposed to: give a solid origin for Sonic that could be a jumping off point for future stories. And, like I said before, I definitely want to get back to this world and see what else SEGA and Paramount can come up with. So in that regard it most definitely succeeded. Sonic the Hedgehog is a fun family-friendly movie with a great message, and something that even the most casual fans of the character should take time out of their schedule to go see.
I know my next article was promised to be Part 4 of my Rise of Skywalker series, but this movie came up on my radar and really deserved my attention. The good news is that the next two weeks are dedicated to finishing that series. Have a great weekend everyone!
